Clutch mechanism for coiling devices



Sept. 13, 1955 H. c. EAMES 2,717,743

CLUTCH MECHANISM FOR COILING DEVICES Filed Oct. 10, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet1 (Lo 2 M 3 $5 j ;INVENTOR A n N ATTORNEYS Sept. 13, 1955 H. c. EAMESCLUTCH MECHANISM FOR COILING DEVICES 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 10,1952 INVENTOR ATTORN EYS Sept. 13, 1955 c, E S 2,717,743

CLUTCH MECHANISM FOR COILING DEVICES Filed Oct. 10, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet3 }6 w F""/ "M1 Ellllllllll DWI") INVENTOR United States Patented Sept.13, 1955 CLUTCH MECHANISM non COILING DEVICES Hugh C. Earnes, Oxford,Conn .assignor to Farrel-Birmingham Company, Incorporated, Ansn-nia,Conm, a corporation of Connecticut Application October 10, 1952, SerialNo. 314,086

13 Claims. (Cl. 242-83) This invention relates to devices for co-ilingmetal rods or the like, and more particularly to a clutch mechanism fora device known as a drop coiler.

When metal rods are delivered from a continuous rolling mill, they arecoiled about a drum or shell for handling. A continuous rolling milldelivers these rods very rapidly, and this necessitates the use ofseveral coilers since the rods are delivered in multiple from thefinishing rolls.

From time to time it is, of course, necessary to stop the action of thecoilers so that a completed coil may be removed from the machine. Inorder, therefore, that the coilers may keep pace With the delivery ofthe rods from the mill, it is necessary to provide for quickacceleration of the coiler in receiving the end of a rod from the mill,and also to provide for a rapid deceleration to bring the coiling drumto a stop in order to provide for the discharge of the completed coilbefore another rod arrives.

The present invention relates to a clutch mechanism for drivinglyconnecting the inner and outer shells of such a coiling device, theclutch being so constructed that a clutch shoe will be actuated bycentrifugal force to make driving contact with the outer drum or shellof the coiler so that the latter will be driven with the inner shell towhich the clutch mechanism is secured. It will be understood that theinner shell is positively driven and the clutch mechanism is supportedby this inner shell and actuated by centrifugal force into drivingcontact with the outer shell or drum. Moreover, when the operation ofthe coiler is discontinued, the coiler motor may be stopped in a veryshort time, and it is necessary to also stop the motion of the outerdrum. The clutch mechanism of my invention is so constructed that itwill act as a brake upon the stopping of the motor of the coilingmechanism so that the rotation of the outer drum will be checked withthe inner shell or drum and will not be permitted to continue rotatingdue to its inertia.

To this end a wedging mechanism is provided so that any tendency of theshell or drum to over run the inner shell will result in a cammingaction to cam the clutch 1 shoes into contact with the outer shell, andthus serve to check the rotation of the latter.

One object of the invention is to provide a new and improved drivingmechanism for coiling machines or like devices.

Stillanother object of the invention is to provide a rodcoilingmechanism having inner and outer drums between which the rod is coiledwith a clutch mechanism connecting the outer drum to the inner drum,which mechanism is actuated by centrifugal force.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a rod-coilingmechanism having a positively driven inner drum and an outer drum drivenfrom the inner drum, the rod being coiled between the two drums orshells, with a clutch mechanism to drivingly connect the outer drum withthe inner drum in a positive and efficient manner, and at the same timepermit the completed coil or rod to drop freely from the space betweenthe drums.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a rod-coilingmachine of thetype described above with a clutch mechanism connectingthe inner and outer-shells and drums between which the rod is coiled,which clutch mechanism will also act as a brake to check the rotation ofthe outer shell or drum when the innershell-or drum is stopped.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features andcombinations of parts to'be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view partlyin section of'a rod-coilingdevice embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a partial sectional view showing the clutch finger mechanismin a different position from that shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view through the clutch mechanism takenon line '33of Fig. 4; r

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a front view of the clutch mechanism and supporting fingers,some parts being-broken away for the sake of clearness;

Fig. 6 is a top plan detail View of theclutch mechanism;

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of one'of the links in the clutch mechanism;and V Fig. 8 is a perspective detail view of the wedge block employed'inthe clutch mechanism.

To illustrate apreferred-erribodiment of my invention I have shown inFig. lof the;drawings a drop coil: mechanism for coiling rods or t'helike comprising a-frame designated generally by the numeral 10 uponwhichis supported a driving motor 11. Rotatably mounted in the frame 10in a vertical position is aho'llow shaft or sleeve 12, this sleeve beingmounted for rotation in "bearings 13 and 14. At'its upper end the-sleeveis provide'dqwith a flange 15 having at its outer edge abevellgear161neshing with a bevel pinion 1'-7on;thegshaft 18 of the motor-11.

Slidably mounted-within the sleeve 1 2i s 'a'shaft 19, which shaft, aswill be explained later, rotates withthe sleeve '12 but is slidablevertically with respect to the sleeve. Attached to'the upper end-of theshaft 19 is 'a rod or stem 20 secured to the piston 21 of a hydrauliccylinder 22 by which the stem 20 may be raised and .lowered. Secured tothe lower end of the shaft 19 is a flange 23, which flange is 'held uponthe shaft 1bys-the nut 24.

It will be understood that'the stem 20 is not rotatable with respect tothe frame of the machine but that the shaft 19 rotates'with the sleeve12as' does 'also the flange 23.

The sleeve 12 is provided with a flange '25 having a downwardlydepending skirt 26 which is the inner shell or 'drum around which therod is coiled. Adjacent but spaged laterally from this shell is an outershell ,or drum .27, the coils being shown in dotted 'lines at 33 betweenthe inner and outer drums '26 and '27.

The drum 27 is generally cylindrical inshape and is provided withannular outwardly projecting flanges Y28 .and 29. Surrounding the flange28 is .a bearing band 30, the outer surface of which bears against aplurality of rollers.31..rotatably mountedin a bracket structure 32secured to and depending fromthe framelO-of themachine. The outer shell27 is, therefore, rotatably-mounted with respect to the frame and, aswill be noted hereinafter, is permitted limited vertical movementwith:respect.to=the frame, it being supported from below,during-operationof the device, by theclutch structure whieh'will behereinafter :described.

Secured to and extending radially inward from the inner shell 26 are aplurality of flanges 34, which flanges are spaced about the innerperiphery of the shell. Pivoted at 41 to each of the flanges 34 is alink 35 which is secured at its lower end to a finger structure 36. Alink 37 is pivoted to this finger structure at 38, and is also pivotedat 39 to a bracket 40 secured to the flange 23. With this constructionwhen the flange 23 is raised from the position shown in Fig. l to thatshown in Fig. 2, it will be seen that the finger structure swings aboutthe pivot point 41 at which the member 35 is pivoted to the flange 34.

Any suitable number of the finger structures 36 may be .employed inspaced position about the shell 26, six of them being employed in thepresent construction, and this structure carries the clutch and brakemechanism which will now be described. It is noted that as the fingerstructure is connected to the inner shell 26, it is only necessary todrivingly connect it to the outer shell 27 in order to have the shellsrotate together.

As shown more especially in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, the finger structure 36comprises a plate 43 to which is secured in spaced relation a lowerplate 44 by the web 45, and between the upper and lower plates is apocket 46 within which the clutch mechanism is mounted. This mechanismcomprises a clutch shoe 47 having a liner 48 secured to its outer face.Projecting rearwardly from the shoe 47 are upper and lower spaced webs49 and 50 shown more especially in Fig. 5.

Rotatably mounted in and disposed between the webs 49 and 50 is a roller51, and secured upon the outer surfaces of these webs are links 52 and53, the latter being shown in detail in Fig. 7. These links are securedat one end to the webs by a pin 54 which extends only through the websand the links thus permitting the shoe 47 and the links to move withrespect to the plates 43 and 44. At the other end of the links isprovided an elongated opening 55 through which extends loosely a pin 56,this pin extending also through the upper and lower webs 43 and 44 so asto limit movement of the shoe with respect to the fingers and also toserve as a driving member to drive the shoe when the fingers are rotateddue to their connection with the flange 34.

This pin 56 which, as has been stated, passes through elongated openings55 in the links, also passes loosely through elongated openings 57 inthe webs 49 and 50 but is fixed in the plates 43 and 44. This not onlyallows the clutch shoes to move radially with respect to the inner andouter shells 26 and 27 as permitted by the elongated slot 57, but alsoallows the shoes to move circumferentially of the shells to a certainextent with respect to the finger mechanism 36, as permitted by theelongated slots 55 in the links 52 and 53.

The clutch shoes are held within the pocket 46 when the fingers are inthe position shown in Fig. 2 by eye bolts 58 secured between the Webs 49and 50, which eye bolts pass loosely through openings 59 in the web 45and receive the nuts 60.

Secured to and depending downwardly from the flange 29 of the outershell 27 is a clutch band 61 with which the clutch liner 48 secured tothe outer face of the shoe 47 is adapted to engage when the shoe 47 isdrawn outwardly by centrifugal force to drive the outer shell from theinner shell.

As has been stated, it is desirable to maintain the clutch shoe incontact with the clutch band 61 when the motor 11 is stopped so as toobtain quick deceleration of the outer shell in order to permit afinished coil to be removed from the machine. For this purpose a wedgeblock 62, which is provided at its front edge with a wedge 63 is securedby bolts 64 to the web 45 of the finger mechanism 36. This wedge blockis disposed between the upper and lower webs 49 and 50 of the brake shoeso that the wedge member 63 is designed to be engaged by the roller 51whenever the clutch shoe tends to move circumferentially of the drumsahead of the drive pin 56.

The outer shell or drum rotates in the direction of the arrow 65 shownin Fig. 4, and it will be noted from this figure that movement of theclutch shoe in this direction relatively to the fingers 36 will tend tocause the roller 51 to ride outwardly on the surface of the wedge 63 andthus maintain the clutch shoe in engagement with the clutch band 61.This will check the rotation of the outer drum or shell whenever therotation of the inner shell is stopped due to stoppage of the motor 11.

The operation of the device may be briefly summed up as follows. Withthe parts in position as in Fig. 1, the rod 66 to be coiled is led inthrough the tube 67, and the motor 11 is placed in operation and thesleeve 12 and outer shell 26 secured to this sleeve will be set intorotation. The outer shell 27 is supported from below by the fingermechanism 36. When the inner shell rotates, the clutch shoes 47 will bethrown outwardly due to centrifugal force, this outward movement beingpermitted by the elongated slot 57 which receives the pin 56 and also bythe eye bolts 58 which are secured to the clutch shoes and are looselymounted in the openings 59 of the web 45. This will cause the clutchliners 48 to engage the band 61 and efiect rotation of the outer shellor drum 27.

When a coil is complete, the motor 11 will be stopped which will stopthe rotation of the inner shell 26. When the inner shell is decelerated,the clutch shoes due to inertia will tend to continue their rotation andhence move circumferentially relatively to the finger mechanism 36 aspermitted by the elongated slot 55. Any movement of the shoes in thisdirection will cause the roller 51 to ride outwardly over the inclinedsurface of the wedge member 63 and thus maintain the clutch shoes inengagement with the band 61. Thus when the inner shell is decelerated,the outer shell will likewise be decelerated and stopped.

As soon as the drums 26 and 27 are at rest, pressure fluid may beadmitted to the cylinder 22 to raise the stem 26 and the flange 23mounted on the lower end of shaft 19. This will raise the members 40from the position shown in Fig. l to that shown in Fig. 2, thus movingthe finger mechanism 36 and the clutch mechanism carried thereby to theposition shown in Fig. 2. The completed coil 33 will then be permittedto drop by gravity 0 from the space between the inner and outer drums 26and 27.

It may be noted that when the finger mechanism is moved to the lowerposition shown in Fig. 2, the outer shell 27 is also allowed to drop toa slight extent until the band 30 rests on the rim 32 of the bracketstructure 32. When the stem 20 is again lowered to the position shown inFig. l and the finger mechanism 36 swung upwardly again to the positionshown in Fig. 1, the latter will engage the lower surface of the flange29 and raise the outer drum 27 to the operative position shown in Fig. 1and support it in this position during a subsequent coiling operation.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention,it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the detailsshown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit ofthe invention and within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spacedinner and outer substantially cylindrical shells between which thematerial is coiled, power-operated means for rotating the inner shell,and clutch mechanism carried by the inner shell, said mechanismincluding a movable clutch shoe moved outwardly by the rotation of theinner shell into operative driving relation with the outer shell, and afinger element movably connected to the inner shell by which said clutchmechanism is supported, said finger element extending below the spacebetween the shells and supporting the coil from below.

2 An apparatus for coiling'rod or ,similar material lation withthe outershell, and afinger element movably connected to the inner shell by whichsaid clutch mechanism is supported, said finger element extending belowthe space between the shells and supporting the coil from below, andmeans to move said finger element from its operative position to permitthe coil to drop from the machine.

3. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spacedinner and outer substantially cylindrical shells between which thematerial is coiled, poweroperated means for rotating the inner shell,and clutch mechanism carried by the inner shell, said mechanismincluding a movable clutch shoe moved outwardly by the rotation of theinner shell into operative driving relation with the outer shell, and asupporting element pivoted to the inner shell by which said clutchmechanism is supported, said element extending below the space betweenthe shells to support the coil.

4. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spacedinner and outer substantially cylindrical shells between which thematerial is coiled, poweroperated means for rotating the inner shell,and clutch mechanism carried bythe inner shell, said mechanism includinga movable clutch shoe moved outwardly by the rotation of the inner shellinto operative driving relation with the outer shell, and a fingerelement pivoted to the inner shell by which said clutch mechanism issupported, said element extending into the space between the shells tosupport the coil, and being movable downwardly about its pivot fromsupported position to a depending position to permit discharge of thecoil.

5. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spacedinner and outer substantially cylindrical shells between which thematerial is coiled, means for rotating one of said shells andcentrifugally operated clutch mechanism to connect said one shell to theother said shell to efiect rotation of the latter said mechanismincluding a supporting member secured to one shell, a clutch shoecarried by said member, and means mounting said clutch shoe on saidmember for movement in a direction radially of the shells to engage theother one thereof and also for movement circumferentially of the shellsto be urged outwardly toward said other shell when the rotated shell isdecelerated.

6. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spacedinner and outer substantially cylindrical shells between which thematerial is coiled, means for rotating the inner shell, a coilsupporting member pivoted to the inner shell within the same andextending across said space between the shells toward the outer shell,and a clutch shoe movably mounted on said member for movement outwardlywith respect thereto in response to centrifugal force into engagementwith the outer shell.

7. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spacedinner and outer substantially cylindrical shells between which thematerial is coiled, said shells being mounted to rotate on asubstantially vertical axis, means for rotating the inner shell, a coilsupporting member pivoted to the inner shell and extending toward theouter shell, and a clutch shoe movably mounted on said member formovement outwardly with respect thereto in response to centrifugal forceinto engagement with the outer shell, said member being movabledownwardly about its pivot to an out-of-the-way position, and meansattaching said shoe to the supporting member to discharge the coil frombetween the shells.

8. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spacedinner and -.outer substantiallyr cylindrical .shells between which the.material is coiled, means for rotating the inner shell, a supportingmember pivoted to the inner shell about an axis transverse to thatiofthe -shell and-extending toward the outer shell, and aclutch shoemounted on said member for movement outwardly with respect thereto intoengagement withthe outershell, and means tending to cam said shoeoutwardly upon relative movement of said shoe and supporting member inone direction.

9. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spacedinner and outer substantially cylindrical shells between which thematerial is coiled, means for rotating the inner shell, a supportingmember pivoted to the inner shell about an axis transverse to that ofthe shell and extending toward the outer shell, and a clutch shoemounted on said member for movement outwardly with respect thereto intoengagement with the outer shell, and means on said member urging saidshoe outwardly when said shoe tends to rotate ahead of said member.

10. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spacedinner and outer substantially cylindrical coaxial shells between whichthe material is coiled, power-operated means for rotating the innershell, and clutch mechanism carried by the inner shell, said mechanismincluding a movable clutch shoe moved outwardly by the rotation of theinner shell into operative driving relation with the outer shell, and afinger element movably connected to the inner shell by which said clutchmechanism is supported, said finger element extending below the spacebetween the shells and supporting the coil from below, and means to movesaid finger element from its operative position to permit the coil todrop from the machine, said means comprising a member disposed formovement axially of said shells and connected to said finger element.

11. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spacedinner and outer substantially cylindrical coaxial shells between whichthe material is coiled, power-operated means for rotating the innershell, and clutch mechanism carried by the inner shell, said mechanismincluding a movable clutch shoe moved outwardly by the rotation of theinner shell into operative driving relation with the outer shell, and afinger element movably connected to the inner shell by which said clutchmechanism is supported, said finger element extending below the spacebetween the shells and supporting the coil from below and means to movesaid finger element from its operative position to permit the coil todrop from the machine, said means comprising a member disposed formovement axially of said shells and connected to said finger element,and pressure-fluid-operated means for actuating said member.

12. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spacedinner and outer substantially cylindrical shells between which thematerial is coiled, poweroperated means for rotating the inner shell,and clutch mechanism carried by the inner shell, said mechanismincluding a movable clutch shoe moved outwardly by the rotation of theinner shell into operative driving relation with the outer shell, a stemmounted axially of said inner shell for longitudinal movement in anaxial direction, a plurality of finger elements movably connected to theinner shell by which said clutch mechanism is supported, and meansconnecting said stem to said finger elements to move the later abouttheir pivots to an outof-the-way position.

13. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spacedinner and outer substantially cylindrical shells between which thematerial is coiled, poweroperated means for rotating the inner shell,and clutch mechanism carried by the inner shell, said mechanismincluding a movable clutch shoe moved outwardly by the rotation of theinner shell into operative driving relation with the outer shell, a stemmounted axially of said inner shell for longitudinal movement in anaxial direction, a plurality of finger elements movably connected to theinner shell by which said clutch mechanism is supported, and meansconnecting said stem to said finger elements to move the latter abouttheir pivots to an out-of-the-Way position, and pressure fluid means formoving said stem.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSMoltrup et a1. Jan. 8, 1895 St. Pierre Oct. 21, 1930 Chapman Sept. 4,1934 Adams Aug. 30, 1938 MacLeod Mar. 7, 1939

